Israel wildflowers: Hispid Viper’s-bugloss

Echium angustifolium, Hispid Viper’s-bugloss,
Hebrew: עכנאי שרוע, Arabic: زهرة الأفعى ضيقة الأوراق


Scientific name:		Echium angustifolium Miller
Common name:		Hispid Viper’s-bugloss
Hebrew name:		עכנאי שרוע
Arabic name:		زهرة الأفعى ضيقة الأوراق
Plant Family:		Boraginaceae, זיפניים


Life form:		Chamaephyte, semi-shrub
Leaves:		Alternate, entire
Flowers:		Red, violet
Flowering Period:		March, April, May, June, July, August
Habitat:		Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:		Mediterranean
Summer shedding:		Perennating

Derivation of the botanical name:

Echium, echis, “a viper,” the nutlets appearing to represent a viper’s head.

angustifolium, angustus, “drawn together, narrow”; folium, leaf; meaning narrow leaved.
Bugloss (Greek origin), means ox tongue, apparently because of the roughness of the leaves.
The hebrew word עכנאי, akhnai, by the foreign name echium, derived from echis, a viper.

The standard author abbreviation Miller is used to indicate Philip Miller (1691 – 1771), a botanist of Scottish descent.

_{Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool}